By James Ballard, MBA, CPHQ, CPPS, HACP and Christopher Pratt, MS, BSN, RN A Futuristic Perspective for Incident Management In Parts I and II of Emergency Preparedness, we provided an overview of what happens when disaster strikes and a process to trace your current procedure. In Part III, we offer a futuristic viewpoint on High […]
As healthcare organizations continue to respond to the effects of the Covid 19 crisis, new sustainable approaches are needed. The importance of safety measures such as social distancing, source control with protective face coverings and diligent hand washing is critical in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. How safe and prepared are you and your
More Strategies to Prevent Spread Read More »
We have always known that having competent staff was and remains the backbone to who we are as an organization, and as a provider of care, treatment, and services. Lives depend on competence, not only the lives of our patients, but the lives and livelihoods of those who work with us. Let’s pause for a
Competence and Competency Assessment Read More »
The Joint Commission will be defining fall events in their Sentinel Event Policy starting January 1, 2021 to help address the need for more preventive fall measures. This new definition will be more closely aligned with established guidelines from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators™ and the National Quality Forum. The new definition will
New Definition for Fall Events Under TJC’s Sentinel Event Policy Read More »
Understanding the Issue “Inappropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance are major public health threats. In the United States, most antibiotic use occurs in ambulatory care and 30% to 50% may be inappropriate. The National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria set a goal of reducing inappropriate outpatient antibiotics by 50% by 2020. “ TA Rowe
Why Antibiotic Stewardship is Important in the Ambulatory Care Setting Read More »
CMS’s recently announced adoption of the final rule that will make changes to several regulatory requirements that affect hospitals, critical access hospitals and/or Ambulatory Surgery Centers. These changes will be phased in over the next two years. The first change removes the current requirements found at 416.52(a) for a H&P within 30 days of the
History & Physical Requirement Changes – Ambulatory Surgery Centers Read More »
It is timely that in the midst of a worldwide pandemic that has gripped our nation, we celebrate our nation’s nursing professionals during Nursing Week (May 6-12). The normal accolades provided to our nursing professionals for their delivery of safe and effective patient care seem to fall short in the face of the current healthcare
Celebrating Nursing Week Read More »
More than 45 years ago, Earle H. Spaulding developed an approach to disinfect and sterilize patient-care items and equipment. His approach has been successfully used by infection control professionals and others when planning methods for disinfection or sterilization. Spaulding believed that if instruments and devices for patient care were placed into different classifications according to
What Is High Level Disinfection (HLD)? Read More »
Timely and comprehensive discharge planning helps with patient and/or family satisfaction and can assist with minimizing the number of re-admissions if the plan is the most appropriate for the patient, and includes detailed education & discharge instructions along with crucial information is shared with the next caregiver. Key requirements supported by both The Joint Commission
Why Discharge Planning Is Crucial for Patient Recovery Read More »
In November 2019, CMS announced its plan to reorganize its infrastructure. These changes and the rationale for the changes were published in the November 25, 2019 Federal Register. The operational changes are significant and expansive, our focus for this article will be a summary of the overarching changes and the duties of the newly announced
The 2020 Reorganization of CMS Read More »
The Joint Commission has just release two new elements of performance (EPs) and one revised EP that will go into effect July 1, 2020 for hospital-based palliative care programs in the Advanced Certification for Palliative Care program. These updates are as follows: Provision of Care (PCPC) standard PCPC.1, EPs 6 and 7, which require programs
Revisions to the Palliative Care Certification Requirements Read More »
Immediate Jeopardy Removal Plan Tool 2019
Immediate Jeopardy – The CMS Process and A Removal Plan Template Read More »
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